Jakarta – The Jakarta Housing and Settlement Agency has scrapped a budget of Rp 712 billion (US$4.9 million) for the development of three low-cost apartments (rusunawa), potentially leaving 14,000 low-income residents without proper housing.
The 14,000 residents had registered with the agency, the agency's acting head Meli Budiastuti said. However, some of the residents would be able to live 9,800 apartment units designated for low-income residents that were constructed in 2017, she added.
"As long as we don't have to accommodate residents who have been relocated [because of the administration's programs], the residents can live in those 9,800 units," Meli said on Thursday, as quoted by kompas.com.
The agency would ensure that only low-income residents lived in the apartments, she said.
Previously, the administration planned to develop apartments in Ujung Menteng and Pulogadung, East Jakarta, and renovate an apartment in Karang Anyar, Central Jakarta. However, the plan could not be executed because of the limited time frame for finishing the project.
Meli said that according to prevailing regulations, low-cost apartments could only be constructed through multi-year project schemes.
"We could not propose any multi-year projects because of the change of governor [last year]. The development of low-cost apartments must be conducted through a [multi-year] scheme via the issuance of a gubernatorial decree," Meli said.
The city administration's failure to build the low-cost housing has been met with criticism.
City councilor Bestari Barus lambasted the housing agency for failing to properly plan the construction. "We agreed to allocate a large budget for the project, but the agency failed to execute the plan." (cal)